Context
A barcode on every seat
Reel Code lets a fan unlock ordering, the team store, trivia, and more from their phone. I researched, designed, and tested the interfaces, with design, product, and engineering through launch.
Product and marketing looked at what Levi’s Stadium and other Bay Area venues had actually turned on. A lot of promotion and service never made it into digital form. Full Wi-Fi coverage made a better experience possible. Engineering built a 49ers experience around a branded barcode scanned in the Reel Code app. Codes lived on every seat.
Problem
The venue was physical. The service was not.
Fans could order food, buy gear, play half-time trivia, and watch quarter highlights — but only if the interface made those four jobs obvious in a loud, bright, time-boxed place. The first delivery was a UI strong enough to demo to investors without pretending the stadium was a quiet living room.
Approach
Two fans, then the wireframes that serve them
Storyboards produced two personas so the team’s favorite features could not outrank a visitor’s actual needs. Wireframes forced the hard calls: what a link is named, where navigation sits, which feature earns the first screen.
Low-fidelity concepts came before visual polish. Card sorting and A/B tests kept the structure honest.
Outcome
Utility, measured in scans and orders
Research surprised me with how much a phone can carry inside a venue. Fans wanted the instant version of things they already do: food, merchandise, trivia, highlights.
Engagement, transaction rate, and satisfaction moved in the right direction. Being on site at Levi’s — standing where the codes would actually be — changed the design. Scans per game and the conversion from scan to interaction became the loop we designed against.
Role & tools
Research, interface design, and testing, with product and engineering, including an investor-ready demo.
- Sketch
- Flinto
- InVision
- Card sorting
- A/B testing